In one example of this disclosure, two decoders perform a method for detecting and decoding overlapping radio surveillance signals. The first decoder detects a first automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) preamble from a signal stream received via a front-end unit. The first decoder decodes the first ADS-B signal associated with the first ADS-B preamble. The second decoder detects a subsequent ADS-B preamble from the signal stream while the first decoder is decoding the first ADS-B signal. The second decoder decodes the subsequent ADS-B signal associated with the subsequent ADS-B preamble.
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1. A system comprising: a first decoder communicatively coupled to a front-end unit; and a second decoder communicatively coupled to the front-end unit, wherein the first decoder and the second decoder are configured to: detect automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) preambles from a signal stream received via the front-end unit; decode ADS-B signals associated with the ADS-B preambles; and output ADS-B message data based on the ADS-B signals, wherein the first decoder is configured to detect a first ADS-B preamble from the signal stream, and to decode a first ADS-B signal associated with the first ADS-B preamble, wherein the second decoder is configured to attempt to detect a subsequent ADS-B preamble while the first decoder is decoding the first ADS-B signal, and to decode a subsequent ADS-B signal associated with the subsequent ADS-B preamble, and wherein the system is further configured to enable the second decoder when the first decoder is decoding the first ADS-B signal, and to disable the second decoder when the first decoder is finished decoding the first ADS-B signal.
A system for decoding aircraft surveillance signals has two decoders connected to a front-end unit. Both decoders detect and decode Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signals from a received signal stream and output the message data. The first decoder detects and decodes a first ADS-B signal. While the first decoder is working, the second decoder tries to detect a subsequent ADS-B signal. The second decoder is enabled only while the first decoder is processing and disabled when the first decoder finishes. This allows the system to decode overlapping signals.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second decoder is further configured to: begin decoding the first ADS-B signal associated with the first ADS-B preamble; attempt to detect subsequent ADS-B preambles while decoding the first ADS-B signal; and in response to detecting a subsequent ADS-B preamble while decoding the first ADS-B signal, to stop decoding the first ADS-B signal and instead to decode the subsequent ADS-B signal.
In the system where two decoders decode overlapping aircraft surveillance signals, the second decoder initially starts decoding the first ADS-B signal detected by the first decoder. While decoding this first signal, the second decoder actively searches for subsequent ADS-B preambles. If a new preamble is found, the second decoder immediately stops decoding the first signal and switches to decoding the newly detected subsequent ADS-B signal, optimizing processing of overlapping signals.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein enabling the second decoder comprises enabling preamble detection logic of the second decoder, and wherein disabling the second decoder comprises disabling the preamble detection logic of the second decoder.
This system addresses overlapping aircraft surveillance signals by using two decoders. A first decoder and a second decoder are both connected to a front-end unit, and both are capable of detecting Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) preambles, decoding the associated signals, and outputting ADS-B message data. The first decoder is configured to detect and decode a primary ADS-B signal. To handle potential overlapping or subsequent signals, the second decoder is actively enabled to attempt detecting *new* ADS-B preambles *while* the first decoder is busy decoding its primary signal. When the first decoder finishes its task, the second decoder is then disabled. Crucially, "enabling" the second decoder specifically means activating its internal preamble detection logic, allowing it to actively scan for new signals. Conversely, "disabling" the second decoder involves deactivating this same preamble detection logic.
4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a buffer communicatively coupled to both the first decoder and the second decoder, wherein the first decoder and the second decoder are both configured to communicate ADS-B message data to the buffer, wherein the ADS-B message data are based on the decoding of the ADS-B signals.
The aircraft surveillance signal decoding system has a buffer connected to both the first and second decoders. Both decoders send their decoded ADS-B message data to this shared buffer. The buffer acts as a central repository for the decoded information from both decoders.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the buffer is configured to check for duplicate ADS-B message data among ADS-B message data the buffer receives from the first decoder and the second decoder, and to output only a single copy of a set of duplicate ADS-B message data.
In the aircraft surveillance signal decoding system with a buffer, the buffer checks for duplicate ADS-B message data received from the first and second decoders. If identical data is found from both decoders (likely due to signal overlap), the buffer ensures that only a single copy of the message data is outputted. This prevents redundancy and ensures data integrity.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the front-end unit is coupled to an antenna, and the signal stream received by the front-end unit via the antenna and processed by the front-end unit, prior to the first decoder and the second decoder receiving the signal stream from the front-end unit.
In the aircraft surveillance signal decoding system, the front-end unit receives signals from an antenna. This front-end unit processes the raw signal captured by the antenna before sending the processed signal stream to the first and second decoders for ADS-B signal detection and decoding.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the front-end unit comprises: an RF front-end communicatively coupled to an antenna; an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) communicatively coupled to the RF front-end; and a signal pre-processing block communicatively coupled to the ADC.
The front-end unit in the aircraft surveillance signal decoding system consists of an RF front-end that's connected to an antenna. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is connected to the RF front-end to convert the analog signal to digital. A signal pre-processing block is connected to the ADC to further prepare the digital signal for decoding.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first decoder is configured to decode the first ADS-B signal from Mode S extended squitter signals at 1,090 megahertz from the signal stream.
In the aircraft surveillance signal decoding system, the first decoder is specifically configured to decode Mode S extended squitter signals transmitted at 1090 MHz. This decoder extracts the ADS-B information from these specific types of signals present in the received signal stream.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second decoder is configured to decode the ADS-B message data from Mode S extended squitter ADS-B signals at 1,090 megahertz from the signal stream in accordance with the DO-260B or ED-102A standard.
In the aircraft surveillance signal decoding system, the second decoder is configured to decode ADS-B message data from Mode S extended squitter signals transmitted at 1090 MHz, following either the DO-260B or ED-102A standard. This ensures compliance with established protocols for ADS-B data format and content.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the subsequent ADS-B signal is a first subsequent ADS-B signal, wherein the second decoder is further configured to continue attempting to detect ADS-B preambles while the second decoder is decoding the first subsequent ADS-B signal and, if the second decoder detects a second subsequent ADS-B preamble while the second decoder is decoding the first subsequent ADS-B signal, the second decoder stops decoding the first subsequent ADS-B signal and instead decodes the second subsequent ADS-B signal.
In the aircraft surveillance signal decoding system with two decoders, if the second decoder detects another ADS-B preamble while already decoding a first subsequent ADS-B signal, it will interrupt the decoding of the first subsequent signal and immediately start decoding the newly detected second subsequent ADS-B signal. The second decoder prioritizes the most recently detected signal for decoding.
11. A method comprising: detecting, with a first decoder of a communication processing system, a first automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) preamble from a signal stream received via a front-end unit; decoding, with the first decoder, a first ADS-B signal associated with the first ADS-B preamble; detecting, with a second decoder of the communication processing system, a subsequent ADS-B preamble from the signal stream while the first decoder is decoding the first ADS-B signal; decoding, with the second decoder, the subsequent ADS-B signal associated with the subsequent ADS-B preamble; enabling, with one or more processors of the communication processing system, the second decoder when the first decoder is decoding the first ADS-B signal; and disabling, with the one or more processors, the second decoder when the first decoder is finished decoding the first ADS-B signal.
A method for decoding aircraft surveillance signals involves using a first decoder to detect and decode a first ADS-B signal from a received signal stream. While the first decoder is processing this signal, a second decoder detects a subsequent ADS-B signal. The second decoder then decodes this subsequent signal. The second decoder is only enabled while the first decoder is decoding, and disabled when the first decoder finishes.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein enabling the second decoder comprises enabling preamble detection logic of the second decoder, and wherein disabling the second decoder comprises disabling the preamble detection logic of the second decoder.
In the aircraft surveillance signal decoding method, enabling the second decoder means turning on its preamble detection logic to search for new signals. Disabling the second decoder means turning off the preamble detection logic when it is not in use, for example, after the first decoder has completed processing its assigned signal. This optimizes resource allocation.
13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: outputting, with the first decoder, a first set of ADS-B message data based on the decoding of the first ADS-B signal; and outputting, with the second decoder, a second set of ADS-B message data based on the decoding of the subsequent ADS-B signal.
The aircraft surveillance signal decoding method includes the first decoder outputting ADS-B message data after decoding the first ADS-B signal. Similarly, the second decoder outputs its own set of ADS-B message data after decoding the subsequent ADS-B signal. These outputs represent the decoded information extracted from the received signals.
14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising: checking for duplicate ADS-B message data among the first and second sets of ADS-B message data outputted by the first decoder and the second decoder; and communicating only a single copy of a set of duplicate ADS-B message data.
In the aircraft surveillance signal decoding method, after both decoders output their ADS-B message data, the system checks for any duplicate data between the outputs of the first and second decoders. If duplicates are found, only a single copy of the message data is communicated or stored, preventing redundancy and maintaining data integrity.
15. A system comprising: a front-end unit; a first means for decoding communicatively coupled to the front-end unit; and a second means for decoding communicatively coupled to the front-end unit, wherein the first means for decoding and the second means for decoding both comprise means for detecting preambles from a signal stream received via the front-end unit and to decode ADS-B message data from the signals; means for detecting a first radio surveillance preamble from a signal stream received via a front-end unit; means for decoding the first radio surveillance signal associated with the first radio surveillance preamble; means for detecting a subsequent radio surveillance preamble while the means for decoding the first radio surveillance signal is decoding the first radio surveillance signal; means for decoding a subsequent radio surveillance signal associated with the subsequent radio surveillance preamble; means for enabling the means for detecting the subsequent radio surveillance preamble when the means for decoding the first radio surveillance signal is decoding the first radio surveillance signal; and means for disabling the means for detecting the subsequent radio surveillance preamble when the means for decoding the first radio surveillance signal is finished decoding the first radio surveillance signal.
A system for decoding radio surveillance signals contains a front-end unit and two decoding modules. Both decoding modules are capable of detecting preambles and decoding ADS-B data from the signals. The system has a component that detects a first preamble from a signal stream, another component that decodes the associated signal, a component that detects a subsequent preamble while the first signal is being decoded, and another component that decodes this subsequent signal. Also included are components that enable the detection of the subsequent preamble while the first signal is being decoded, and disable the detection after the first signal is finished decoding.
16. The system of claim 15 , further comprising: means for outputting a first set of radio surveillance message data to a buffer, wherein the first set of radio surveillance message data is based on the decoding of the first radio surveillance signal; means for outputting a second set of radio surveillance message data to the buffer, wherein the second set of radio surveillance message data is based on the decoding of the subsequent radio surveillance signal; means for checking for duplicate radio surveillance message data among the first and second sets of radio surveillance message data; and means for communicating only a single copy of a set of duplicate radio surveillance message data.
The radio surveillance signal decoding system has modules for outputting a first set of radio surveillance data based on decoding the first signal, and a second set of data based on decoding the subsequent signal, both to a buffer. It also includes modules for checking for duplicate data between the first and second data sets, and for communicating only a single copy of any duplicate data, ensuring efficiency and data integrity.
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August 4, 2014
June 20, 2017
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